Combined asphalt-kettle and steam-generating plant



C. F, HETHERINGTON.

COMBINED ASPHALT KETTLE AND STEAM GENERATING PLANT. APPLICATION FILED JAN 17, 1920.

1 350, 502 Patented Aug. 24,1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

C. F. HETHERINGTON.

COMBINED ASPHALT KETTLE AND STEAM GENERATING PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-H1920.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

c. i/% ya g i0 W ZM% PATENT OFFICE.

CARL F. HETHERINGTON, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

'COMBINED ASPHALT-KETTLE AND STEAM-GENERATING PLANT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 17, 1920. Serial No. 352,150.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL F. HETHERIN TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at lndianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Asphalt Kettles and Steam Generating lflants, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompa- 'nying drawings.

This invention relates to means for meltingasphalt, and particularly to means of this I character in which the asphalt is melted by steam heat. 15

One oi the objects of this, invention is'the provision ofa combined steam generating and asphalt melting plant.

And a further object in this connection is toprovide a combination asphalt kettle and steam boiler so constructed that one lire will be used'for the purpose of both generating steam and melting the asphalt, thus doing away withthe necessity now common in plants of this character of providing a separate steam generatingplant and a sepe asphalt kettle.

further object is to provide a construclion oi this character wherein a water leg,

- as it may be termed, immediately surrounds the flue leading from the fire box, as 111 the and wherein the asphalt melting ttle surrounds this water leg so that thus this water leg is interposed between the flue and the asphalt to therebyprevcnt the asphalt irom being heated by direct fire beneath the kettle and. to thus eliminate the of ring the asphalt, that is driving oil the volatile oils and carbonizing the asphalt in the bottom of the melting kettle.

Jkfurther object is to provide a dry pipe o1 steam dome mounted upon the water leg or boiler proper disposed within the asphalt kettle and connected to the water space of the boiler by the usual connections.

And a further object is to provide means for superheating steam taken from this dry pipe or steam dome by the provision of a superheating coil disposed within the boiler flue and subjected to the heat thereof, thus str ction for melting asphalt which will permitthe asphalt to be brought to the correct pit, ash boX, etc.

temperature for use within a period of ten hours, that is which will permit the kettle to be charged at night and the melting of the asphalt to the proper temperature by morning. 7

A further object is to provide means whereby this superheating coil may be readily removed if it is not desirable to use it.

And still another object is to provide a boiler of this character which will properly heat and melt the asphalt in an asphalt kettie while at the same time the steam may be used for other purposes, as for instance, for the purpose of melting and bringing to proper temperature the asphaltcontained in asphalt tank cars. Other ob ects will appear in the course Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view,

of an asphalt melting and steam generating plant constructed in accordance with my invention Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail section of the coupling between the superheating coils and the pipes leading therefrom;

l 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 4i is a section similar to Fig. 3 but showing a slight modification in the form of boiler.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my combined steam boiler and asphalt melting kettle comprises the kettle proper, which is designated 10, and which is ap- Patented A11 24, 1920.

proximately U-shaped in cross section and is open at the top, and isprovided with a drawofl cock 11 in its bottom. This kettle is mounted upon a suitable supporting frame of ing provided with forward and rear supporting wheels 13. V

Extending longitudinally entirely through the forward and rear ends of the kettle is a fine 14 which, at its rear end, opens into the upper portion of a fire box 15 supported inany suitable manner upon the truck frame. This fire box may be provided with means for injecting oil or gas flames into the flue or may be provided with the usual grate, ash I have illustrated the outer wall of the fire box as being provided with openings 16' through which oil burners may be projected, and as provided in its bottom outer boiler sheetli), the flue constituting the V 7 end thereof.

inner boiler sheet, and the space between the flue and the outer boiler sheet constituting a water leg, designated generally 20. This water leg-may be supplied with Water in any suitable manner, and has preferably a length equal to the length of the asphalt melting kettle. Extending. longitudinally through this water leg and preferably between the usual braces 2i, are a'plurality of boiler tubes or fire tubes 22. These open at their forward ends into a smoke box 23 and at their rear ends into a smoke box 24,th1s smoke box having a smoke stack 25, as is usual. It willb'e obvious now that the products of combustion will passthrough the central flue 14; into the forward smoke box 23 and. will then pass back through theboiler tubes or fire tubes 22 to thesmokebos; 241 and out through the flue 25. .Disposed above the-boiler and extending longitudinally thereof below the level of the top vof the asphalt kettle is a dry pipe 26 (or a steam dome may be used) which is connected by tubes 27 to the water leg 20. Preferably a pipe 28leads from one end of the dry pipe and extends horizontally through'the kettle, then downward through the smoke box 23, and into the flue l4 atone There it is coiled to form a superheating coil 29. I

From this superheating coil the steam may pass into a plurality of longitudinally extending coils 30 disposed preferably-as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 4% so as to extend at intervals throughout the length of the asphalt kettle. The pipe may then extend out of the asphalt kettle to any desired point or steam form of'coils 30 to the asphalt kettle,

may be takendirectly from thedry pipe out through the asphalt'kettle or from the superheating coil 29 directly out to any suitable point. of discharge without passing in the v have illustrated'the usual water column and 1 gage 31 attached to the.boiler and dry pipe,

these parts performing their obvious functions.

lVhile I have illustrated the flue 14 as be- 7 ing concentric to the boiler sheet 19, I do not wish to be limited to this, as itis obvious that the space between the'upper portion of the are not coincident;

lower portion of the flue and the lower portion of the boiler sheet, as in the Scotchmarine boilers of common type in which the axis of the boilershell and the furnace flue This construction will afford greater space above the flue for boiler tubes.

-This construction is illustrated in Fig. 4. 7

The construction which has been above described is particularlydesigned to provide a plant which maybe operated some distance from railway facilities, that .is to say a plant small enough and light enough to be readily moved upon its own wheels over the usual -roads"and which will provide for melting the asphalt by steam and which will not be so heavy that it cannot be transported over the average country-roads and across the usualculverts and bridges. It is to be noted :that asphaltic cement must be heated to about 320 F.: in order to properly prepare it for i mixing with sand, stone dust, etc., in a mechanical pugmill'mixer. To properly melt i the asphalt with steam at lOO-pound pressure isout of the question and it is, therefore, necessaryto either use steam at 250 or 300 -is made up of steam coils usually formed of liand 1-3; extra heavy pipe. These steam coils might be connected directly to the dry 'pipe, but preferably, as before stated, they extend from a superheatingcoil-to permit steam to be used at a lower pressure. If steam at 120 pounds pressure be used, there may be about 150 lineal feet of pipe in the superheater-coil, thus making the coil for a kettle 11-3 long by 5 6 wide and 6' deep probably 7 or 8 long. It is desirable that the pipesleading to and from this superheating coil be made detachable so that the coil may be removed withina few minutes provided with a door which is constructed I similar to the door on the frontend of a locomotive type'boiler. This permits connections to be made between the coil and the dry pipe and the superheated coil and the asphalt heating coils or connections to be made directly to the dry pipe and the asphalt heating coils and the superheating coil removed. It will be understood, of course, that the dimensions of this plant will vary according to the capacity desired, particularly in view of-the fact that I design that the steam from this combined boiler and asphalt kettle shall be used-for other purposes than merely melting down the as phalt. In other words, my construction prol vides a steam'generating plant as well as an size, a boilero'l or "asphalt melting kettle, and in this connection I desire to state that the steam from the steam boilerinay be used for the purpose the tank cars. Asphalt refineries ship the asphalt 'i'rom the refineries in tank cars equipped with steam coils so that the asphalt may be melted in the cars at the destination and pumped from them to the plant kettles. 'Vhere steam'i'or the tank cars has been taken from the power boiler of an asphalt plant, it has been found that it interfered materially with the power requirements of the plant and, therefore, it is usual for the contractor to secure additional boiler power totake careof the tank cars alone. 7 Some of these cars will hold. 18,000 gallons of asphalt. Of course, if the plant which I have designed is tobe used for generatingexcess steam sullici'ent to melt the asphalt in cars of this capacity, th'c'boiler would have to have a relatively great horse power, For ordinary purposes, however, and to generate excess steam for the purpose of melting asphalt in atankba'r of ordinary horse power would be su'liicienta V r I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction or the exact arrangement of thevarious parts of the kettle and boiler, as it is obvious that these mightbe varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

WVhilta I have illustrated a dry pipe as disposed within the kettle,and into which steam generated within the boiler is carried, 1 do'not wish'to be lim ted to this, as an ordinary steam dome might be used in some cases in place of the dry pipe, and it is to be understood that the phrase steam chamber as used in the claims is intended to include either a dry pipe, a dome, or equ valent element. It IS also to be understood that used, etc. While the construction described is particularlyintended for the'm'clting of asphalt, yet it isobvious that it might be used for the purpose of "refining asphalt or the distillation of oils and like uses, and I do not wish to be limited, therefore, to the useof this device merely as an asphalt melting kettle.

I claim:

1'. A heating kettle and steam generator comprising a kettle proper, a fine extending through the same, means for carrying prodthrough' the kettle.

nets of combustion into and through said flue, a water legentirely surrounding that portion 01"? theflue disposed within the kettle and constituting a steam generator, and ducts leadingfrom the steam generator to the exterior of the kettle.

'2.- A heating kettle and steam generator comprising a kettle proper, a flue extending through the same, means for carrying products of combustion into and through said flue, a water leg entirely surrounding that portion of the flue disposed within the kettle, and steam pipes extending from the water leg through the kettle.

3; A combined heating kettle and steam generator comprising a kettle proper, a line extending through the same, means for can rying products of combustion into and through that portion of the flue disposed within the kettle, a water leg entirely surrounding that portion ofthe line disposed withinthekettle, a steam collecting member disposed within the kettle and connected to the water leg, and steam pipes leading from said collecting member and 4. A heating kettle and steam generator comprising a kettle proper, a due extending through the same, means for carrying products of combustion into and through flue, a water leg entirely surrounding that portion of the flue disposed within the kettle,

a steam chamber disposed within the kettle and connected tothe water leg, a superheating coil disposed in the flue and connected to receive steam from the chamber, and steam coils disposed in the kettle and with which said flue is connected.

5. An asphalt mclting'and steam generating plant including an asphalt kettle, a fire box mounted in connection therewith, afiue leading'from the tire box and extending through the kettle, a water leg disposed within the kettle and entirely surrounding the flue, fire tubes receiving products of combustion from the flue, and extending through the water leg, stack into which the fire tubes discharge, a steam chamber operatively connected to the water leg, and a steam pipe leading from the chamber.

6. An asphalt melting and steam generating plant including an'asphalt kettle, a fire box mountedin connection therewith, a flue leading from the fire box and extending through the kettle, a water leg disposed within the kettle and entirely surrounding the flue, fire tubes receiving products of combustion from the flue anfl extending through the water leg, a stack into which the fire tubes discharge, a steam chamber operatively connected to the water leg, and a steam pipe leading from the chamber, said steam pipe extending into the kettle and being formed to provide a plurality of coils.

7. An asphalt melting and steam generatthroughthe :water leg, I -the fire tubes discharge, a steam chamber operatively connected. to the water leg, a

ing plant including an asphalt kettle, a fire box mounted in connection therewith, a flue leading from the fire box and extending through the kettle, a water leg disposed within the kettle and entirely surrounding the flue, fire tubes receiving productsof combustion from the flue andmextendlng a stack into which steam pipe leading from the chamber, a super-heating coil disposed within the flue, one end of the coil, beingconnected to the steam chamber, and longitudinally extend- .ing steam coils disposed within the kettle and connected to the other heating coil. H i

8. An asphalt melting and steam generating plant including an asphalt kettle, a fire box mounted in connection therewith, a flue leading from the fire box and extending end of the superthrough the kettle, a water leg disposed within the kettle andentirely surrounding the flue, fire tubes receiving products .of

combustion from the flue and extending through the water leg, a stack into which the fire tubes-discharge, a steam chamber operatively connected ,to the water leg, a

- chamber, and longitudinally steam pipe leading from the chamber, a

'superheating coil disposed within the flue,

oneend of the coil being connected to the extending steam coils disposed within the kettle and connected to the other end of the superheating coil, said superheating coil being detachably connected to the chamber and to vthe asphalt heating coils, and the heating plant being provided with a door at one end wherebyaccess may be had to the superheat- '40 ing coil to remove it or replace it. 7

9. An asphalt heatingplant comprising a kettle having supporting wheels, a fire box associated-with the kettle and supported by 1 said wheels, a flue leading from the fire box through the kettle, a smoke box into which the flue discharges, a water leg entirely surrounding lthe flue and disposed within the kettle, a smoke boxdisposed atthe-other end fot the flue from thefirst named smoke box,

fire tubes connecting the smoke boxes, a stack leading from thesecond named smoke box,

a chamber disposed withinvthekettlej and 'operatively connected at its ends tothewater 1 leg, and a steam pipe chamber.

leading form the 10. Anasphalt heatingplant comprising a kettle having supporting wheels, a fire box associated with the kettle and supported by said wheels, a flue leading from the firebox through the kettle, aismoke box into which a the flue discharges, a water leg entirely surrounding the flue and disposed within the kettle, a smoke box disposed at the other end of the flue from the firstnamed smoke box, fire tubes connecting the smoke boxes, a stack leading from the second named smoke box, a steam chamber disposed within the kettle and operatively'connected at its ends to the water leg, a superheating coil disposed within the flue and connectedat one .endto the chamberpand heating coils disposed within the kettle and connected to the other end of said steam coil.-

7 11. An asphalt heating plant comprising a kettle having supporting wheels, a-fire box associated with the kettle and supported by said wheels, a flue leading from the fire box through the kettle, a smoke box into which the flue discharges, a water leg entirely sur- 7 rounding the flue and disposed within the kettle, a smoke boxdisposed at the other end of the flue from the first'named smoke box, fire tubes connecting-the smoke boxes, a stack leading from the second named, smoke box, asteam chamber disposed within the kettle andoperatively connected rat its endsto the water leg, and a, steam pipe leading from the chamber, extending in the form of heating coils through the kettle, and extending'out kettle, a heating chamber disposed therein,

and a water inclosing and steam generating chamber surrounding the heating chamber and disposed within'the kettle and having steam ducts leading to the exterior of the kettle. o

.14. In combination, a material heating kettle, a heating chamber disposed therein,

a fire box associated with the heating chamv ber, 'a boiler associated with the heating ,chamber and disposed within the kettle, a

steam receiving chamber disposed within the kettle and intowhich steam iromthe boiler is led, and pipes leadingirom said steam chamber through the kettle to the exterior thereof. e

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. l

CARL'F, HETHEPWGTON. 

